In The Rubble
by pixelatrix
Summary: One-Shot related to another story - Fem-Shep/Major Coats pairing. Slight Spoilers for ME3. Rated M for Language & Stuff in later chapters.


**A/N:**

**This is a one-shot related to my Coats/Shepard series called: An Officer But Not A Gentleman. It's something that is referenced a few times in early chapters.**

**Enjoy.**

**Rated M for language.**

**Not beta'd so any errors are my own.**

**Bioware owns all.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Favorite. I'll love you forever.**

"We can't find the Commander."

Major Coats recognized the voice over the comm, Admiral Hackett. Once the reapers had practically disintegrated before his eyes, Liam had been part of the group to head up to the Citadel to help survivors. He'd insisted on it. They said Shepard was probably dead. He didn't believe it. He couldn't. So he was going to fucking find her.

The crew from the _Normandy _searched through the keeper tunnels. They'd found the bodies of Admiral Anderson and the fucking Illusive Man, but no Shepard. Coats decided to search through the massive piles of rubble that lay underneath the series of tunnels.

Hours passed with no luck. He refused to give up on her. A woman who could get the Krogan to work with salarians and turians could survive this. And she'd never given up, so he wouldn't either. He was getting ready to move to a different room when he heard labored breathing.

He followed the sound, stopping periodically to double-check his direction. He couldn't risk calling out to whoever it was, in case it drowned at the faint sound. He slipped down a small incline of debris and there she was.

_Fucking hell. She fucking did it and survived._

Her armor had melted away. Her hand was clutched around a pistol. He knelt beside her. His fingers gently touched under her neck to check her pulse. It was as weak as her breathing. With all his medi-gel applied to her visible wounds, he started to lift her up in his arms when her labored breathing stopped altogether. He began CPR immediately.

"Stay with me, love." He paused between chest compressions to check for signs of life. "Breathe, Shepard, come on now. All you have to do is breathe for me."

He was about to breathe into her mouth gain when she started gasping for air. He couldn't waste any time. He lifted her as gently as he could manage and raced for the nearly temporary medical facilities.

"Hold on, Commander. The doctors will patch you up in no time." He whispered to her as he rushed along.

"Major Coats?" Admiral Hackett glanced up when he slid to a stop inside the make-shift hospital.

"I've got the Commander." He eased her down on a nearby gurney and watched anxiously while the doctors whisked her out of view.

"How did she look?" Hackett asked.

"Bad." Liam glanced towards the Admiral. "She stopped breathing; I had to give her CPR on the way."

"Well, done Major." Hackett nodded at him then headed over to speak with one of the surgeons.

_One week later._

"Major?" Hackett seemed surprised to see Liam siting outside Shepard's hospital room. "I thought you were heading back to London."

"I wanted to see how she was doing." Liam had no intention of explaining himself, Admiral or not.

"The Commander is going to need to spend months in recovery when she finally wakes up...if she wakes up." Hackett turned towards him. "And the moment her location is out, people will want to talk to her. She needs rest and peace. I need someone that I can trust to keep an eye on her when she's transferred to the hospital in London."

Liam glanced from the Admiral to the battered body on the hospital bed. "I'll keep her safe, sir."

"And who will keep her safe from you?" Hackett followed his arms across his chest.

"Sir?"

"You have a reputation, Major Coats. I take most scuttle-butt with a grain of salt." He was silent for a moment and Liam wondered if he was going to say anything further. "She's an amazing woman; Admiral Anderson mentioned that he thought he noticed an interest in the few times that you two met. I'll give you this assignment, but you need to keep your feelings to yourself, at least until she's recovered. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." Liam grinned at him.


End file.
